Neither the men's nor the women's 1st VIIIs have earned the title of "Head of the River", which is gained by winning Eights Week—the main inter-college rowing competition at Oxford.

Barney Williams, a Canadian rower who studied at the college, won a silver medal in rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and participated in the Boat Race in 2005 and 2006.

Another college rower, James Page, was appointed Secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association and coached both the Oxford and Cambridge University boat clubs.

It is now a floating restaurant further down the Thames at Richmond, and for some years was painted in the college colours of green and white.

[5] The races would start at Iffley Lock and finish at King's Barge, off Christ Church Meadow.

Jesus and Brasenose men competed over which college's flag should be hoisted to denote the winning boat.

One of the Brasenose crew ended the dispute by saying "Quot homines tot sententiae, different men have different opinions, some like leeks and some like onions", referring to the emblem on the Jesus oars, and it was agreed to row the race again.

[9] The incident has been said to be shown in an 1822 picture, the earliest depiction of an eights race at Oxford, painted by I. T. Serres (Marine Painter to George IV).

The Jesus College 1st VIII started the competition that year in second position, behind the Christ Church 1st VIII, but after being bumped on successive nights by Exeter, Balliol and Queen's colleges, Jesus took no further part in that year's competition.

The crew entered for the Ladies' Challenge Plate at the Henley Regatta, but lost to Eton, the eventual winners.

He retired that year, and the college magazine, noting that Cross had been a particularly generous supporter of the club, stated that the oars had already been used to good purpose.

[16] The 1st VIII progressed further in the 1950s, making five bumps in 1951 and four in 1952 to reach the first division, with a high point of seventh in 1957.

[27] The club is run by a committee, consisting of a President, the Men's and Women's Captains of Boats, Men's and Women's Vice-Captains of Boats, Captain of Coxes, Treasurer, Secretary, Boathouse Safety Officer, Kit Officer, a Middle Common Room representative, two Social Secretaries,[28] and as of Michaelmas Term 2024 an inaugural Junior Common Room representative was created.

[33] The club, which was revitalised in 1974 and organises an annual dinner for members,[33] also receives contributions for the Cadwallader Trust; this has been a registered charity since December 1982 and supports rowing at the college both with capital expenditure and training costs.

[39] Two students from the college (W. S. Thompson and E. W. Davies (cox)) were part of the losing Oxford crew in the second Oxford–Cambridge boat race in 1836.

Thomas (President, 1953);[17] Boris Mavra (1992, 1993 and 1995);[25][42] the Canadian 2004 Olympic rowing silver medallist Barney Williams (2005 and 2006);[43] and Brodie Buckland (2007).

[44] Justin Hutchinson rowed for Oxford's reserve crew, known as Isis, in the 2002 and 2003 Boat Races, as did Tim Farquharson and Tom Commins, both undergraduates studying Engineering Science in 2009 and 2015 respectively.

[50] Maurice Jones (later Principal of St David's College, Lampeter) was a cox, as were Gordon Roe (later Bishop of Huntingdon) and the chemist Frank Greenaway.

[54] Angus Buchanan, who won the Victoria Cross in 1916 during the First World War, rowed in a college four in 1919, despite having been blinded in 1917.

[56] Colleges began to keep barges moored on the side of the river on Christ Church Meadow from 1839; these would be used for crews to change, for spectators to watch the races and for social functions.